6 policemen arrested over defilement, attempted murder, robbery

Six policemen have been arrested in Lagos over offences ranging from defilement, attempted murder, robbery and extortion in different parts of the state. Arrested alongside the policemen were two civilian accomplices. This came as 33 persons were arrested for acts of jungle justice in the state. On the policemen’s arrest, one of the officers, Sergeant Sylvanus Emoche, as gathered, attempted to shoot a woman at Ajao estate area of the state. He reportedly fired sporadically in the process of which a bullet damaged one FJ Cruiser SUV belonging to the woman identified as Mrs Okafor Oluchi, on July 24. Mrs Oluchi was said to have resisted attempt by the policeman, who was in the company of two civilians, to remove an unregistered Honda Pilot SUV belonging to her husband, Mr Okafor David, from their compound. File: Policemen allegedly fighting over largesse Policemen from Ajao Division, who were contacted, rushed to the scene and immediately disarmed the policeman before taking him to the station with the two civilians. However, during preliminary investigation, Sergeant Emoche was discovered to have visited the compound without the knowledge of Police authorities. Confirming his arrest during a briefing at the Police Officers Mess, Ikeja, yesterday, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Fatai Owoseni, said at the time of committing the offence, the erring policeman had been demobilised from the Police Mobile Force 20 and subsequently transferred to Kogi State Police Command. Two other policemen, according to him, were also charged for defilement. He, however, did not disclose their identities and the circumstances surrounding the case. Furthermore, the Command boss added that three policemen— Sergeant Benjamin Oboh, Sergeant Onyenedu Kennedy, attached to Federal Anti-Robbery Squad, FSARS, Ipakodo and Sergeant Monday Ehijiator, attached to Bariga Division, were arrested for extortion. Some of the suspects arrested over mob action. The trio, as gathered, went to Ikeja in a Toyota Camry car with number plates JN 470 KJA, in plain clothes, where they stopped one Adeshina Quwam Adekunle, accusing him of being an internet fraudster. The policemen, according to Owoseni, “collected N65,000 from the victim. They also used his ATM card to collect an additional N40,000 from an ATM machine. This happened on July 17.” Speaking further, the Police boss said: “On July 19, at about 10.35a.m., at the same spot, the three policemen stopped one Ghenoba Godspower, suspecting him to be an internet fraudster again. “He was also searched, during which N30,000 was collected from him. In the process, the Commander, Rapid Response Squad, ACP Olatunji Disu, arrived with his patrol van and arrested the policemen. Three of them were tried in an orderly room and recommended for dismissal.” Mob action In the same vein, 30 people, alleged to have taken part in the mob action along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, last week, were also paraded before journalists. Frowning at the trend of jungle justice, Owoseni said they also injured some policemen, who attempted to prevent them from carrying out the act. Owoseni said: “We want to use this opportunity to warn that the police and other security agencies will not fold their arms and watch people carry out jungle justice on people who may be innocent. “We want to passionately appeal to the public to report any suspicious place they know as hideouts of suspected ritualists or kidnappers to the police.” However, when some of the suspects were approached, they absolved themselves of involvement in the mob action.